Day 6 Touring: Kyoto, Sunny, 12

Following the Philosopher's Way...

Up early today to wander through Kyoto along a route called the Philosopher's Way which was to take us about 22 kms along side canals and quiet streets permitting us to see some of the truely special shrines and temples this city is famous for. 

We caught our first bus of the day which carried us 45 minutes across town and into the hills to the Zen Buddhist Kinkaku Temple (the Golden Pavilion). Stunning! 

 

 

The top two stories are gold foil on lacquer and a shinning Phoenix sits on the apex of the roof. Guess what I'll be collecting this trip in addition to wind veins?!

 

The grounds were beautifully maintained with small lakes dotting the estate.

 

From there we again bussed across town to Ginkakuji Temple...our bus passes had already paid for themselves! Generally a modest Temple, but with beautiful moss covered grounds and rock gardens with trails that were quiet and meditative. 

 
 

  

At this point we picked up the Philosopher's Way, a trail that was built in the late 1800's and follows a canal which is lined by hundreds of cherry trees. Sadly they were not Yet in bloom, but when they are in a couple of weeks this stretch will be crawling with parties and photographers. For the present it's a quiet scenic walk.

 

With a few blossoms if you look closely:)

 

Ken, this one is for you. Thought you and Christine might enjoy this...on the side of the trail in a small wagon!

 

We next passed through Chiron-in Temple whose claim to fame is that it has the third largest gate of any Temple in Japan. Man it was big!

 

In behind this gate we small and large temples together with an aqueduct still moving water through the site. That lovely sound of running water.

 

 

 

At some point we managed to get lost in the back streets of NE Kyoto and I stopped for directions at a small hotel and once back on our way we decided to try out our first Japanese convienence store lunch!! In Japan these stores are referred to a combi and you can get almost anything there...more on these later on the 88 Temple Route.

 

Then reoriented and tummies full, we headed off to find Chionin Temple. We hadn't planned to stop here, but I'm glad we did. The main temple was covered in a massive shed as it goes through major restoration, but we heard chanting coming from a sizeable temple next door on the complex site and we stepped through the door and we invited in to the service. We dutifully took off our shoes and were given plastic bags to put them into. We went inside, kneeled quietly on the floor and watched a part of the Buddhist service complete with chanting, sutras and plenty of colour. Quite fascinating. I headed out the door first and as I was taking my boots out of two bags I tried to explain to the lady in charge why my boots were so big, ie., I needed them to walk the Shikoku Ohenro. Well, what a surprise! IF I understood correctly, this lovely lady had been to the pilgrimage 33 times! She took my hand and shook it and was all smiles. What a pleasure she was...an amazing experience sits just ahead.

 

The temple grounds were pretty good too!

 

Neil and Sarah, this is for you.

 

We eventually found Yashakajina Shrine and the amazing Kiyomizudera Temple and enjoyed a quiet walk through the back streets of Gion, but it's getting late here and we have an early morning with a long road trip planned that is heavily tied to our pilgrimage.  So I think what I'm going to do is sign off here and leave my journal with this poem that I found today in one of the temples. It's been rattling around in my head ever since. I'll begin tomorrow's post by finishing off today and then work my way into what's happening tomorrow.